Julie Budd performs in Beach Haven

There's plenty to get excited about on the Surflight scene, as it turns out — a frankly awe-inspiring 65th season of "Broadway at the Beach" inside the professional playhouse.

And with June bustin' out all over, there's likely no better way to mark that milestone than through the monumental works of the American masters Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

"Some Enchanted Evening: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein" collects some 30 signature showtunes by the game-changing partnership that married the Tin Pan Alley songwriting tradition to dramatic storytelling, literary sources and ballet as never before.

Directed and choreographed by Broadway veteran Norb Joerder, the show features actors, singers and dancers from the Surflight 2014 company, joined by a special guest chanteuse — the acclaimed pop vocalist Julie Budd.

Members of what could be called "the TV generation" might recall Ms. Budd as the 12-year-old Brooklyn-born dynamo who emerged from seemingly out of nowhere in 1970 — brimming with extraordinary confidence and finely honed vocal skills — to show up on everything from the variety hours of Ed Sullivan and Carol Burnett, to the talkfests of Johnny Carson.

The budding tween-aged talent who would go on to steal the show in the Disney film "The Devil and Max Devlin" has matured into a seasoned performer who's never stepped away from the spotlight.

With a successful new CD release ("They Wrote the Songs") in her growing catalog, the singer that the New York Times branded "a consummate performer" continues to tour extensively; frequently playing to theater-scale audiences as a guest vocalist with symphony orchestras from coast to coast.

"I've been very fortunate ... this is the only job I've ever had!" says Budd with the infectiously energizing good humor and cheer that wins over audiences and cynical reporters alike — and with at least some credit paid to the hard-working young go-getter who would take the No. 2 train from the Utica Avenue station to the Manhattan studios of Merv Griffin (on whose broadcasts she'd appear for an estimated 100 times).

"My parents kept things very 'ordinary' and consistent; they made sure that I always had a family life and a place to come home to, and they made sure I got my education," explains the native New Yorker who spent many of her school-age winters out west, taping TV shows and opening for the likes of Frank Sinatra in Vegas. "Frank would get a kick out of the fact that I could just sit backstage doing my homework, after singing in front of a big crowd of people at Caesars."

"I learned from the best, and I got to work with Carol Burnett, Merv, Jim Nabors, Liberace, Sinatra — and Marvin Hamlisch, who I knew for over 40 years. We had a good tempo together, and I still do a lot of his music in my act."

'Beautiful, elegant'

These days, Budd works with music director Herb Bernstein, the veteran producer-arranger who first introduced Griffin to "the Mini Girl with the Maxi Voice" — and for the second half of Surflight's "Enchanted Evening," Bernstein joins Henco Espag (music director for the program's first half) to accompany the singer at twin baby grand pianos, in a set that will include solo-song highlights from such R&H evergreens as "South Pacific," "Oklahoma!," "Sound of Music" and "Carousel."

"It's gonna be a beautiful, elegant, gorgeous production ... very fancy-schmancy!" laughs Budd. "And you couldn't ask for a more classic collection of songs ... these are the among the first musicals that kids get to know, and they really bring the different generations together like nothing else."

There's much more in store for Summer 2014 at the LBI landmark that's made a remarkable recovery from the devastations of Sandy — beginning Wednesday with the return of Bart Shatto (a sensation as Valjean in last year's hit production of "Les Miz") in the two-fer title role of Frank Wildhorn's "Jekyll and Hyde."

Returning for a third season is the Catch a Rising Star Comedy and Concerts Series, a Monday night slate inaugurated by "Cash Cab" host Ben Bailey (July 14) and the father-son guitar dynasty of Bucky and John Pizzarelli (July 21).